The present invention relates to an article transfer device. More particularly, it is concerned with a transfer device for simultaneously moving or transporting in a substantially continuous manner from a coating station to a coating/curing station or the like a plurality of upright articles, that have been coated, while maintaining the articles in substantially the same upright position they had assumed during passage through the coating station in order to enhance the drainage of excess coating material from the articles prior to entrance of the coated articles into the coating/curing station or heating zone. The instant device constitutes an improvement over the stationary or agitated can handling or plate transfer devices of application Ser. No. 480,807 of Beyer et al., filed June 19, 1974, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,698, and application Ser. No. 565,931 of Beyer filed Apr. 7, 1975, as well as those article handling devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,583,034; 1,936,279; 2,821,491; 2,295,575; 3,570,504; 3,341,353 and 3,716,468.
It is desirable in order to mass produce commercially acceptable coated metal containers or cans which have been treated with a water-based coating to effect removal from a can of as much excess coating material as is practical within the relatively short travel distance and time period employed to move the coated cans between the coating and the coating/curing stations.
It has been proposed in application Ser. No. 565,931, in order to enhance excess coating drainage, that preparatory to introducing the coated cans into the curing oven, a selective and accelerated drainage of the coating from the can be effected through the medium of a preliminary heat treatment operation of a few seconds duration. This preliminary heat treatment could involve the use of a warm air blow-off device or the like located adjacent the coating station and intermediate the coating station and the curing oven. The instant application is directed to further improving the drainage of excess coating material after it leaves the coating station by the incorporation of an improved combination article transfer and wiper type device in the transport system used to convey coated cans from the coating zone to the coating/curing zone.
As heretofore noted, it is desirable to obtain as much drainage of excess coating material from the articles coated, such as can bodies, as is practical prior to the introduction of the same into the curing oven in order, among other things, to minimize buildup and baking of the coating on and possible malfunction of the curing oven conveyor equipment. On the other hand, it can also be desirable to minimize the travel time between the coating station and the curing oven, but without at the same time aggravating the problems of excess coating buildup and removal.
In the instant case where multiple can bodies move in unison and progressively while in an upright condition from a coating station to a curing station, equipment fouling and contamination can still pose problems, when stationary or even agitated simple transfer plates are employed and reliance for forward movement of the cans depends to a large extent upon the forward pushing and shoving action of the can bodies against each other particularly where a speedup in production is desired. The instant invention is an attempt to improve upon the transfer equipment described in the aforementioned patent applications and, in effect, to enhance the overall operations of such equipment in coating and curing metal cans on a mass production basis.